Szaifudrus (Early Levnobilish; /szaɪˌfʌˈdrʌs/)
The Common God of Mortal Magic
"Szaifudrus's story is a reminder of the power we now have at our hands. His choices were a blessing and a curse on us all."
Basics
Szaifudrus is the Common God of Mortal Magic. Once a mortal king, he is commonly known as the Progenitor of Mortal Magic as the catalyst for magic and wizarding to fall into the hands of mortalkind. He currently resides imprisoned at the heart of the King's Labyrinth as punishment for is transgressions.Description
Appearance
Szaifudrus most often simply recounted as being some form of monster, though over the millenia more clear descriptions of him have been made based off of sightings within the Labyrinth's walls. He is a large bipedal creature most often seen wearing golden armor with red cloth. His skin is a dull blue-grey color and covered in scars and runes, the later of which are known to glow a red-orange when Szaifudrus is enraged. He has a long tail with a blade and spines along the end, and both his hands and feet are equipped with large claws. A pair of large antlers curl from his skull, the left of which is broken near the tip. He stands about 8' at the shoulder, with a hunched posture, and is frequently seen running on all fours or walking using his knuckles.Personality
Interactions with Szaifudrus are not particularly known to the public. Generations-long Labyrinth delvers know of Szaifudrus only as a bloodthirsty beast who reaches the far edges of the Labyrinth when driven into magical rages - during which he is nigh impossible to reason with and seeks only death and destruction.For those who manage to reach him at the Labyrinth's heart, Szaifudrus is a patient but distant mentor. He struggles to some degree with interaction after millennia of isolation, and while his knowledge of the world outside through scrying is far from lacking, he is hesitant and awkward in practice. Guilt hangs heavy on him for his actions, and he is often melancholy or clearly outright depressed. He has painfully accepted his punishment and the idea that he will never escape from this torment - and likely neither will anyone else that reaches him.
Powers & Domain
Szaifudrus, as the Progenitor of Mortal Magic, is likely the most skilled wizard on Aanrah. Given already unprecedented access to magical knowledge by Emrul when they made their pact, Szaifudrus has since had millennia to expand that knowledge and explore deeper into the nature of magic. His ascension to divinity has opened more to him despite Emrul's best efforts to stop it. That said, the nature of the Labyrinth make Szaifudrus a absent god - he is unable to reach the prayers or requests of followers, and of course unable to act on them.History
Szaifudrus was born in 4850 as the first son of the king of a now long-forgotten country in modern-day Aranorin, though his exact date of birth has been lost to history. His kingdom was at the heart of several warring providences and the victim of a decades-long drought and famine, which at least made it unappealing for their neighbors to siege. He came in charge of the throne at the age of 23 in 4873 when his father died of illness. Understandably, young Szaifudrus struggled with his reign - his kingdom was slowly dying off, unable to produce its own food and surrounded by hostile territories happy to to take anything they did have. After about five years of fretting for a solution, Szaifudrus decided to set out and try to find help. His kingdom did not fully expect for him to return, but his position was to be held for a decade before being passed to his cousin.Determined to find help, Szaifudrus had taken advice from a old wiseman to seek the divine. After a great amount of wandering and other notes on his travels, Szaifudrus came upon Afl Wgluhchytʼ - Emrul's worldly mage tower. He pleaded to Emrul for audience, which after a month of trying, he was finally granted. Szaifudrus pleaded his case, begging for aid to save his kingdom in any fashion Emrul was willing to grant it. The two discussed at great length the options and prices, until the came upon a deal - Emrul would give Szaifudrus a unprecedented knowledge of magic, and in return Szaifudrus would make Emrul the state-sponsored religion and sole patron of their kingdom. Though small and weak, Emrul hedged on Szaifudrus ultimately uniting and bringing peace to the warring territory, which Emrul saw as a worth-while trade if he were to become the region's sole deity. Emrul made one clause - Szaifudrus was not to teach anyone a single spell. If his people wished to get such power, they would turn and bow to Emrul for it. This way, Emrul imagined he would become a attractive patron in the eyes of the people, and Emrul would be able to manage what was and was not learned. Szaifudrus agreed, and soon returned to his kingdom.
Szaifudrus's newfound power allowed him to quickly began to turn things around. He was able to bring rain to regions that scarcely had seen it in years, caused crops to flourish in abundance, healed disease, injury and illness that had incapacitated hundreds, and kept entire armies at bay on his own. Soon his kingdom began to get back on its feet, and their enemies turned their attention at the sudden supply of food and unusual skills slung by their king. Szaifudrus soon found himself struggling to do everything his people needed of him - on top of running the country, he was expected to hold off raids, heal the sick and injured, repair towns, and fix crops. Even with his magic he couldn't be everywhere at once or keep up with the brutal pace of occurring events, and though his people began to turn to Emrul Szaifudrus felt it was not enough to fix things. Emrul was extraordinarily picky about what magic he taught and the skills he offered were nothing like the kind Szaifudrus had - while in the long term they would survive, Szaifudrus didn't feel like it was enough to get to the long term. Neighboring regions were clambering to join under Szaifudrus's banner, and refugees from the neighboring war-torn countries were flooding in to the now healthy country.
And so, Szaifudrus went back on his deal.
Szaifudrus taught his people how to call the rain, to heal the sick and injured, to make warriors as strong as twenty men. He believed that it would be of no true consequence - if he only taught the skill to the village elder, the head priest, the captain, then it was in the hands of the wisest and most trustworthy of the people who needed it. This was, of course, not the case - and it did not stop there. The spells were taught off to others, and soon people began to collect them. Their enemies struck harder and tried to find people they could extract the knowledge of such spells from, eager to have such power freely available. Before Szaifudrus knew it, a army of civilians and soldiers alike from his kingdom and others had formed at the walls of his castle and its surrounding city, clambering to get the one man who knew it all.
Mortified at what he'd done, Szaifudrus locked the last of his loyal behind the walls and tried everything in his knowledge to keep the attackers out. Emrul let Szaifudrus struggle under several days of siege before the god felt Szaifudrus had had a chance to get a good look at the chaos he'd wrought. His city was burning and his people tore each other apart for the power Szaifudrus had been given, using what he'd taught them as warfare and methods of slaying one another. Szaifudrus begged for his forgiveness and aid one last time, but Emrul refused him. Instead, he turned Szaifudrus into a monster before sending him into a magic-induced rage through his tightly contained and secured castle. Only when Szaifudrus had slaughtered everyone inside, including his wife and three daughters, did Emrul break the spells Szaifudrus had placed on the castle - allowing Szaifudrus to run rampant through the city on his attackers.
According to legend, the battle lasted three days and three nights, until finally all that was left was Szaifudrus and Emrul in the ruins of Szaifudrus's former kingdom. Here, legend would say Emrul turned the kingdom into the Labyrinth - desiring to punish Szaifudrus for eternity for what he did. In truth, Emrul's plan was to slay Szaifudrus, and then wipe what would likely have been the entire modern country of Aranorin off the map to prevent the knowledge of spells and wizardy from 'breaching containment', as Szaifudrus's teachings had allowed mortals to gain the spells without being as strictly bound to deals as they would be with Emrul. Emrul regretted not being more strict with Szaifudrus - a failing he believed of himself in trusting mortal kind. Before he could strike a fatal blow on Szaifudrus, Yalidil Rana appeared and stopped him. Unbeknownst to both parties, Yalidil had been watching the event unfold from Benshuen and had grown rather fond of Szaifudrus and his dedication to his people. Additionally, she had always found Emrul's restriction of magic from mortals to be absurd. So to kill to birds with one stone, she had slain Ineyale Phor† and plucked Baza itself from the sky, turining it into a artifact before shoving it into a wound made by Emrul in Szaifudrus's chest. Through this, Yalidil bound mortal magic to Szaifudrus, and put enough into it that slaying Szaifudrus would be next to impossible for Emrul.
Emrul was beyond furious, but unable to kill Yalidil either. Instead, he took the city and formed it into the Labyrinth, vowing to at least keep Szaifudrus away from others to both suffer alone for all eternity and to keep him from teaching anyone anything else. He ensured that Yalidil couldn't visit him or even see him from her lunar throne, as well as any other deity. To rub salt into his wounds, Yalidil informed Emrul that the spells had breached containment anyways, and that there was no use destroying everything else.
Since then, Szaifudrus has remained trapped at the heart of the Labyrinth. He is capable of controlling the innermost sections to his will, but the further out from the center he goes, the less it listens and the more it works to re-route him back to the center. He is only allowed further out when Emrul forces him into a rampage, as he is too mindless to try to escape. Szaifudrus has access to scrying out, but it is impossible for others to scry in or communicate inside the Labyrinth. He has gotten five visitors since his imprisonment - the first four wizards seeking to make it to the heart and learn from him, and the last a sacrifice from his most recent rampage, Soru. Three of the four he was forced to slay himself by Emrul, and the fourth Emrul killed himself. His only other company has been Oreik and Eiylsweir - both who have methods of traveling that Emrul has been unable to figure out how to block out of the Labyrinth. He spends much of his time focused in on his research in an attempt to stave off the inevitable insanity and crippling guilt and depression for what he's done.
Religion & Dogma
Szaifudrus is a member of the Common Pantheon and often one of the core deities of the so-called Levnobilish Pantheon. He is wildly considered the patron god of all wizards and magic practitioners who use skills not imparted to them at birth. Altars to him can be found in every magical academy and in many other magical institutes or shops. Despite his incredibly widespread worship and following, he is a absent god. Szaifudrus is incapable of receiving almost anything from his followers in the Labyrinth, and would be equally incapable of responding in any fashion. While he in his ascension in divinity, he has little he can do with it. Despite this, he is still a incredibly popular god.Magical institutes teach his tale as one of the earliest pieces of history, believing that knowledge of wizarding's origins are a vital part to the use of magic and wielding the power that comes with it. Many wizards who take their job seriously seek to make a pilgrimage to the King's Labyrinth at least once in their life, to pay homage to the Progenitor and hopes that maybe, just maybe, they will catch a glipse of Szaifudrus or gleam a fraction of his knowledge.
Artifacts, Etc.
- Wand of the Archmage - The broken tip of Szaifudrus's left antler, cut off after he was turned by a squire protecting his middle daughter. It is considered one of the most powerful magical artifacts in the world.
Extra
Relationships
History
Szaifudrus came to Emrul as a mortal human king begging for aid. Though Emrul ignored him initially, Szaifudrus's persistence finally made Emrul give him a chance. His perserverence and charm earned him Emrul's aid. Emrul saw Szaifudrus as a good oppertunity to amass followers, and hedged his bets with the king.
Unfotunately, Szaifudrus's failure to keep his end of the bargin went catastrophically, and the resulting fall out infuriated Emrul beyond words. Worse was that he was ultimately unable to kill Szaifudrus thanks to Yalidil Rana's interference. Though he has found some catharsism in Szaifudrus's prolonged suffering in the heart of The King's Labyrinth, it hardly has balanced out his absolute hatred and distatin for Szaifudrus. Szaifudrus has caused so much humiliation to him amongst the other gods and mortals alike that Emrul would much prefer that he be dead and out of his sight.
Szaifudrus does not feel much better about Emrul, albeit he knows Emrul's hatred is deserved. He feels immense guilt for his mistakes, and though Emrul's cruelty and torment might be excessive, Szaifudrus feels he deserves them. The bulk of his hatred with Emrul comes from dragging others into it, and using innocent mortals to get back at Szaifudrus.
Divine Rank
20
Domains
Mortal Magic
20
Domains
Mortal Magic
Divine Classification
Intermediate God
Alignment
True Neutral
Current Status
Alive
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Realm
Church/Cult
Year of Birth
4850
4765 Years old
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Current Residence
Heart of the King's Labyrinth
Sex
Male
Gender
Male
Height
8'
Related Plots
Ruled Locations
I like it, and the illustrations are awesome. :)